The Milken Institute ranks Raleigh 3rd in the United States for 'Best Performing Cities 2023.'
"Raleigh, North Carolina, experienced a notable jump in rankings this year, moving up 13 spots to the third position, which places it among BPC's 2023 Tier 1 large cities. This marked a return of the Raleigh metropolitan area to BPC's top-performing cities, after placing fifth in our 2021 report but dropping in last year's rankings. Relatively strong job and wage growth have been important drivers of Raleigh's rebound in rankings, with the city improving its position relative to other large cities in all five measures of job and wage growth. In this year's rankings, Raleigh gained 51 positions in short-term job growth, up to the 14th spot from its prior year's 65th ranking, and 84 positions in one-year wage growth, up to 26th place from 110th place in 2022.
The Raleigh area benefits from three major universities located within the Research Triangle: North Carolina State University, Duke University, and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. These nearby universities and technical colleges turn out high-quality skilled workers who attract high-tech companies to the area. Among large cities,
Raleigh ranks seventh in terms of number of high-tech industries with a strong presence in the city i.e., industries with LQ>1), and 10th in terms of the high-tech sector's contribution to the city's GDP relative to the rest of the nation (i.e., high-tech GDP concentration).
While Raleigh maintains its relative advantage, compared to Tier 1 large cities, in terms of housing affordability, the city has experienced rising housing costs in recent years.
Raleigh dropped 24 spots in one-year housing affordability37
over the last two years, moving from 43rd place in 2021 to its current 67th position. Over the last two years, the percentage of households paying 30 percent or more of income on rent or housing in Raleigh rose by more than 2.2 percentage points."
